Longi and Hanwha have fought several (preliminary) court cases, which eventually resulted in a (cross-border) injunction. An ancillary claim that was approved was a recall of infringing products. Longi challenged on appeal the decision of the provisions judge that recall would also extend to solar panels that were already installed, but the judgment was upheld…

It has long been held that a prior art disclosure of a chemical compound would disclose this chemical compound in all grades of purity and that novelty could only be achieved if the claimed level of purity could not be reached in the prior art. However, in the current decision the view that such an…

On 4 August 2022, the English Patents court handed down its decision in Shenzhen Carku Technology Co., Ltd v The NOCO Company, a case on battery-powered car jump starters. The decision of Mr Justice Meade is of particular interest as it addresses experts and hindsight, the third limb of the Actavis questions on the doctrine…

The Brazilian pharmaceutical market is growing fast and is expected to become the fifth largest in the world by the next decade. While the country struggles to recover from economic downturn, the health care sector plays a key role in political speeches and the overall approach by the government. The Brazilian Constitution establishes access to…

Expanding on its 2016 Cuozzo decision, the U.S. Supreme Court holds that the “no appeal” provision of 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) precludes judicial review of the agency’s application of Section 315(b)’s time bar. In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Section 314(d) of the Patent Act precludes judicial review of the…

As per the EPC definition, a substance or composition that is already known to have been used in a “first medical use” may still be patentable for any second or further use, provided that said use is novel and inventive. Even though the first medical use was the subject of patent protection within the EPC…

Introduction In a ruling by Hacon HHJ on 4 July 2022, [here] the English Patents Court has invalidated three patents belonging to J. C. Bamford (JCB) while finding a fourth valid and infringed by Manitou UK Ltd and its parent company Manitou BF (Manitou).  The judgment followed a six-day trial in November last year. Parallel…

Because the patent failed to disclose the absence of a loading dose, the no-loading-dose limitation was without adequate written description support. A divided Federal Circuit panel has reconsidered and reversed a prior decision finding that a patent owned by Novatis for administering a drug to treat relapse multiple sclerosis was not invalid for lack of…

Barcelona Commercial Court no. 5 – arguably Spain’s most active patent court – rules in an infringement case concerning motorcycle helmets. The features of a claim cannot be narrowed down based on a preferred embodiment represented in one of the drawings. While probably not a watershed case, this precedent should be considered in future disputes…